Interesting stuff regarding the disease based on nutrition.
Interesting study from Spain regarding nutrition and Covid-19
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#2
I was a bit disappointed (though not actually surprised) that they don’t discuss food intake in that paper, only supplementation of the micronutrients that they consider important for immune function.
One thing that caught my eye was that they write only of vitamin D intake, as opposed to dietary and life-style factors that promote the manufacture of the vitamin in the body. Spain is singled out, for example, for having one of the lowest intakes of vitamin D, but I saw no reference to actual vitamin D levels in the Spanish population. Given the abundant sunlight of the Spanish climate, is the population’s low vitamin D intake really a concern? They don’t address that, and I can see the answer to the question going either way.
I suppose that one of the reasons for not mentioning the body’s ability to make vitamin D is the fact that cholesterol is required for that, and it might therefore make statin use appear to be somewhat undesirable.
Also, it seems odd that they write of the potential anti-inflammatory effects of ω-3 fatty acids, while completely ignoring the inflammatory effects of the excessive intake of ω-6 fatty acids, which is a big problem with the standard diet.
Despite the use of the word “COVID-19” in the title, the paper does not really provide any evidence that the ten nutrients of concern actually help in the context of the current pandemic, beyond their presumed role in strengthening the immune system.
All that said, however, this is a very interesting paper. Thanks for the link.
Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is actually quite common in Spain and many other sunny countries. People will avoid the sun for various reasons, some have quite dark skin and thus won’t make as much and the food is not fortified to the extent it is in less sunny parts of the world.